Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, January 9, 2002

Photo: RICH PEDRONCELLI

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California Gov. Gray Davis gestures as he delivers his address at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2002. Davis said said his budget proposal will not include a tax increase to close the projected $12 billioin budget deficit.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) less

California Gov. Gray Davis gestures as he delivers his address at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2002. Davis said said his budget proposal will not include a tax increase to close the ... more

2002-01-09 04:00:00 PDT Sacramento -- Gray Davis, whose moderate Democratic credentials carried him into the governor's office, used his State of the State address to make an election- year turn to the right yesterday as he battles low approval ratings.

By focusing on increased security following the

Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and eschewing tax increases to fix the state's budget mess, Davis hopes to blunt the appeal of Republican challengers and tap the same support that Californians have shown President Bush in the war on terrorism.

Those themes also are designed to deflect attention from Davis' handling of the energy crisis and a looming budget shortfall. Although threats of rolling blackouts have largely faded, voters have given the governor low marks on the energy crisis in public opinion polls.

"It certainly wasn't a stirring or memorable speech," Cain said. "But making any mistakes would have politically been a potentially damaging thing for him as he competes for Republican and centrist voters."

In many ways, the conservative chords sounded by Davis mark a return to strategies he used in his first campaign for governor. Trailing badly in early polls four years ago, Davis won the election after highlighting his military background, law enforcement endorsements and support for the death penalty.

But with the most recent polls showing Davis losing in a head-to-head matchup with former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan, nothing is being left to chance.

Garry South, Davis' top campaign strategist, said last night that they knew the speech would be viewed as Gray Davis' first campaign speech of the year.

Davis took great care to highlight law enforcement issues last night, spending much of his speech honoring those who had connections with Sept. 11.

Despite the governor's focus on security after the terrorist attacks, it's not clear how the voters will respond. In a recent Field Poll, about half the Californians surveyed approved of Davis' counterterrorism efforts, but only 6 percent listed terrorism as their top concern. The economy, energy and education all ranked higher.

At least one member of the Legislature questioned Davis' attention to terrorism, saying the speech had become a media stunt.

"I just don't know what it all has to do with the state of the state," said Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, who has said he opposes Davis' plan to expand wiretap capabilities of state and local police.

Davis and many lawmakers in his own party also are at odds over how to erase the state's $12.2 billion budget shortfall. While Burton and others say a mix of spending cuts and tax increases will be necessary, Davis said he would present lawmakers with a budget with no tax increases that would protect local governments and schools and expand subsidized child care.

Davis -- who did not mention the budget deficit until the end of his speech -- has already run into problems trying to make even modest reductions in spending.

He has backtracked on several cuts he proposed after running into unfavorable publicity. In the past few weeks he has restored funding for trauma centers, day care for welfare mothers who have returned to work, and community colleges.

Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, said the governor had been far afield on some Democratic policy issues.

"He was far more on the right than where I would have liked him to have been," Vasconcellos said.